Related Articles
Nevine al-Aref – Ahram Online
An Egyptian archaeological mission at Tabet Al-Motaweh area, West of Alexandria, uncovered a Graeco-Roman pottery workshop and a storage building on Monday.
“A collection of kilns were discovered in the workshop which include two engraved in rocks”, Mostafa Waziri secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities explained.
The kiln featured a vaulted entrance, where workers passed through to line up amphora in rows. The entrance is covered with clay and fragments. Studies revealed the workshop was used throughout different periods. The Northern side was used as a kiln for cement during the Byzantine time. It was destroyed during the Middle Ages and converted into a cemetery. A burial for a pregnant woman was uncovered inside one of the kilns.
“A storage was also unearthed containing a large collection of clay pots used for cooking”, Ayman Ashmawi, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector.
The storage building housed dorms for workers during the Ptolemaic era. It has 13 chambers, including one for religious rituals and prayers, another used as a kitchen, and a third for selling pots. Bones of cattle and fish were found in the pots.
A large collection of Ptolemaic coins bearing the faces of Alexander the Great, deity Zeus and Queen Cleopatra were found in one of the chambers. Two large terracotta statues for deity Harpocrates and a yet unknown king, in a very bad conservation condition, were unearthed in another chamber. Hunting hooks and deity statues were found along with 100 catacombs.
